Trump was the catalyst for profit taking - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ explained that Donald Trump’s first press conference since July was a key risk event for markets this morning. 

Key Quotes:

"After a slow start, the USD firmed as the press conference began on expectations that he would reinforce his pro-growth, America-first policies. That certainly was the tone of his opening remarks. However, the tone of the press conference was perhaps not as gung-ho as had been expected and the initial Q+A session focused heavily on recent news stories relating to Trump’s relationship with Russia and conflicts of interest relating to his business. Profit-taking on intraday moves became evident."

"In his second Q+A he struck a similar tone to his campaign platform which saw the dollar firm and equities rebound (the USD has subsequently fallen). Overall, the US equity market was volatile but within fairly modest ranges. 

Given the leveraged community has been on the side-lines so far this year, with this risk event now out of the way we may see some sharper moves as the market positions for the new President’s inauguration on 20 January."